


A Brief and Shining Moment

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds, Derek Morgan - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:17:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8399599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: After a brief relationship, Derek leaves the reader, but comes to realize it was the biggest mistake of his life. Inspired by the song "Fingertips" by OneRepublic.Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	

Back in town on another case, Derek stared at the beautiful, smiling woman at the area’s local coffee shop. She was laughing with and leaning on a tall, fit, gentleman, much like himself and realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that it had been the biggest mistake of his life. Not the affair - but rather letting her go. Letting distance and his stupidity tear them apart. It was his fault.

The man pulled her into him, their body language consistent with that of lovers. It was comfortable, connected - almost preordained. He recognized it. The ease with which they moved together. The protective, yet not overbearing ministrations of her new companion. And most of all, the smiling eyes that told anyone in a 50-foot radius that he was her man and she was his girl. He knew it all. Not only because he was a profiler, but because that had been them. For a brief and shining moment.

Fifteen months earlier, the BAU had brought them to the same area. The case had been brutal and ongoing, and in the midst of it all, he’d gotten a call from home, saying that his best childhood friend had been shot in a drive-by. His grief drove him to the local bar in an attempt to do anything to drown out his sorrows. He did drown, but not in the way he had originally planned.

After being stood up by an online match, she’d decided to stay at the bar and have a couple drinks anyway. When Derek came in, wanting to forget, he immediately gravitated toward her. Over drinks, they’d gotten to talking. She offered her condolences. He claimed that any man that would stand her up wasn’t worth it anyway - and drinks had followed. Not many, but a few. Enough for both of them to let their guards down in a way they normally wouldn’t.

Shy grazes of the arm had turned into bold brushes of the legs. She’d leaned into him, with all of the comfort of a long-standing relationship, and he’d allowed it. When she turned to him and swallowed hard, asking if he wanted to accompany her home, he’d said yes without a moments hesitation - and that’s how their affair began.

*We were running from the waves on the shallows  
Trying to keep ourselves alone and out of sight*

Every hour that she hadn’t been at work and he’d had free from the case, they did their best to isolate themselves from the rest of the world - talking, making love, and just being. It had been easy, simple, fun, comforting, fulfilling. It had been everything all rolled into one - and it had been more than he could’ve ever hoped for.  
But when the time had come for Derek to leave, the BAU’s services having been dismissed after six weeks with no leads, he’d broken her heart. At the time, he thought he was doing the right thing, but now he wasn’t so sure.

*I remember it, it was a night just like this  
One of those moments that just slip*

Granted, they’d both thought that their first night together would be there one and only, but fate had other plans. They were drawn together. So when Derek said that he was leaving and with their schedules so diametrically-opposed, a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work, she had been crushed.

As he continued to take in the one that got away with the one that now held her heart, her words rang through his ears. “Did you not feel what I felt?” she asked, the tears strolling down her face like the water down a river. He had. But he’d been convinced that they wouldn’t be able to make a lasting relationship work, and had walked out of her apartment with a heavy heart and a clouded mind.

On the plane ride back, he’d convinced himself he’d done the right thing. She’d be better off. They’d both move past it. But he’d underestimated the affect she’d had on him. How lasting it would be - and how hard it would be to go on without her. Without her easy laugh, comforting smile and soft shoulder.

*I remember us, you were a late summer bliss  
One of those moments that just slips  
But you feel it from your heart to your fingertips, yeah*

Every woman he passed reminded him of her in some way. The way the barista grazed the arms of her favorite customer. The way the nurse smiled at a waiting child. The way his friend JJ went home every night to the man she loved more than anyone else in the world. Everything brought his mind back to her.

When he left, he had deleted her number from his phone, believing it would be easier on them both - easier to move on - if they didn’t have any contact with each other. After months of wishing he could take back what he’d done, he promised himself that if he ever saw her again, he’d tell her what a mistake he had made. That he missed everything about her, both in body and in mind.

But now, he was here. He had that opportunity to try and undo all of the damage he had done - and he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe she would listen to his apology, but maybe she would want nothing to do with him. Maybe she’d listen to him, cry, and dump her new lover, but maybe she’d tell him it was too late and turn away. Worst of all, maybe she’d tell him that he’d done her a favor - that since he’d left, she’d found someone better. Someone who realized what he had when he had it.

After the two exited the coffee shop hand-in-hand, Derek struggled with whether or not to run after her. But after standing up from the table more than once, he sat back down. She seemed happy - and he’d lost his chance.

*One of those moments that just slip*


End file.
